Rusney Castillo makes professional debut in Gulf Coast League

FORT MYERS, Fla. — After 14 months, Rusney Castillo finally got to play in a baseball game again.

By Tim Britton

FORT MYERS, Fla. — After 14 months, Rusney Castillo finally got to play in a baseball game again.

Castillo made his professional debut for the Red Sox on Sunday, receiving two at-bats as the designated hitter in a Gulf Coast League playoff game at the team’s player-development complex in Fort Myers.

The 27-year-old, who signed a seven-year, $72.5 million contract nine days ago, grounded a single off the shortstop’s glove in the first inning. He was caught stealing two batters later.

In the third, with two men on and one out, Castillo struck out on three pitches. He swung through the first, fouled off the second and took the third for the backwards K.

That was enough of a day’s work for a player who hasn’t seen game action since July 2013 in Cuba.

“I feel great,” Castillo said through interpreter Laz Gutierrez, Boston’s player-development programs coordinator. “It was a good day. I’ve wanted this day to come for a long time now. It finally got here.”

Of course, results in two at-bats for a 27-year-old in a GCL game don’t reveal a whole lot. Pitchers in the league are notoriously erratic — one Red Sox player who rehabbed there characterized a good day as simply not being hit in the head with a pitch — and it’d be foolish to conclude anything about Castillo based on Sunday’s brief action.

There were about 50 fans in attendance — or about 48 more than GCL games typically draw. The game was played on a back field at the complex rather than in JetBlue Park, where the Sox play their spring training games.

Castillo downplayed the rust of not playing for more than a year.

“I’ve done this for a long time,” he said. “It’s like riding a bike. I felt good and I was happy I was back out there today.”

Castillo didn’t play the outfield on Sunday, but he said he’s ready and eager to get out there whenever the Red Sox decide it’s time.

Castillo is slated to play three to five innings in center field Monday in the deciding game of the GCL finals in Tampa. From there, he’ll work his way up the minor-league ladder, traveling north to play with one of the affiliates headed to the postseason. High-A Salem and Double-A Portland have punched their tickets to the playoffs, and Triple-A Pawtucket is a win away from the postseason.

“There’s at-bats to be had here in the coming days,” Red Sox manager John Farrell said Saturday.

“There’s no specific number of ABs [I need],” said Castillo. “It’s a matter of just playing. The goal from the beginning for me is to play in the big leagues this year.

“Like any hitter, I love to hit, but I think all aspects of my game I want to improve on. Obviously getting on base and being able to use my legs is a big part of my game.”

When he gets to the majors, Castillo’s goal is simply to be himself.

“My No. 1 objective would be to be the same player I’ve always been, to play my game and not try to do too much or try to become someone else,” Castillo said.

Castillo said the success of Cuban predecessors Yoenis Cespedes, Yasiel Puig and Jose Abreu has “definitely added a lot of confidence” and has become “a motivating factor” as he joins them in making the transition to the major leagues.

It is perhaps a sad commentary on this Red Sox season that the most exciting thing occurring for the organization on August 31 was a GCL playoff game. That speaks to how far the major-league club has fallen as well as the excitement surrounding Castillo.

But the outfielder is just another piece of an uncertain puzzle heading into the offseason, and whatever small conclusions the Red Sox can draw about their latest investment over the next month can prove beneficial before the winter. Boston has a lot of moving parts in its outfield, and it would help to have an idea for what Castillo can provide in 2015.

Twitter: @TimBritton

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